Click on any phrase to play the video from that point.
[Learn - The How To series from Adobe]
[video2brain - World-Class Training]
[This video is part of Adobe Photoshop Elements 9: Learn by Video]
[male speaker] Before using any tool, it is wise to gain an understanding
of how that tool works.
And when that tool is especially powerful, it makes all the more sense
to spend plenty of time getting to know the tool.
In this lesson we'll take some time learning about the Editor interface
so you'll feel comfortable finding your way around this valuable tool
while working to optimize your photographic images.
In this case I already have a couple of images open in the Editor.
As you can see, the image dominates the available space,
which is great because we're here specifically because of the image we want to work on.
It's therefore helpful to allow as much space as possible for the image.
In this case I have multiple images open,
so each of them is displayed on a separate tab.
We can switch between these images by clicking on the tab
associated with the image we'd like to work with.
At the bottom of the image display, you'll find the status bar.
This indicates the current zoom setting as well as the output size in this particular case.
You can change which information is displayed here by choosing an option from the pop-up.
To the left of the image display you'll find the toolbox.
This is where you can access a wide variety of tools
for directly manipulating the image you're working on.
Keep in mind that in some cases you'll find multiple tools associated with the same button.
In those cases there's a small triangle at the bottom right corner of the Tools button.
If you click and hold your mouse on the button for one of these tools,
you'll see a fly-out menu where you can choose the specific tool you want to work with.
When you've selected a tool, you'll notice that the settings available on the options bar change
based on which tool you've selected.
Each tool has its own set of options which will be displayed on the options bar.
To the right of the image you'll find a series of panels.
We have several tabs that allow us to edit, create, and share our images.
Edit is used for optimizing the appearance of the image,
Create allows you to produce a variety of types of output from your images,
and Share allows you to share your images through online services and other outlets.
Keep in mind that many of these options are also available within the Organizer.
Within the Edit tab we also have options for full edit mode, quick edit mode,
or guided edit mode.
Within each of those sections you'll find controls specific to that particular mode.
To take full advantage of the Editor, you'll want to work in the full edit mode.
In this mode you can have a series of panels available.
You can choose which panels you'd like to see by choosing them from the Window menu.
For example, if you'd like to see a histogram for the current image,
you can choose Histogram from the Window menu.
These panels can be rearranged as desired at any time.
Simply drag any panel to a new position and it will stay there.
The Layers panel is one of the more powerful panels available
because it allows you to add additional image layers or adjustment layers
that you can use to optimize the appearance of an image.
If you decide you don't want a panel,
you can choose Window and then the panel name in order to remove it,
or you can simply drag that panel out into the open area
so that it becomes a floating panel and then click the X
at the top right of that floating panel window.
There is also an application bar at the top of the Editor interface.
The first button allows you to reset panels to their default configuration.
Clicking this button will cause the panels to appear as they do by default within the Editor.
We can also undo or redo a particular task.
For example, if I had inadvertently grabbed the Brush tool
and painted a stroke across my image, I could click Undo.
If for some reason I actually wanted to keep that change rather than undoing it,
I could choose the Redo button.
But of course in this case the paint stroke was a mistake,
so I'll go ahead and undo again.
We also have a button that allows it to switch to the Organizer
and a button that will bring up the Welcome screen.
To the far left of the application bar we'll find a pop-up
that allows us to arrange the currently open images.
In this case I have two images open, and so I can choose options, among others,
that allow me to show the images two up.
In this case, for example, I can view these images side by side,
perhaps to compare them as I'm optimizing each of them.
In most cases I prefer to work with a single image at a time in the tab display,
and so I'll choose the Consolidate All button in most cases.
Finally, we have the menu bar.
Just about everything you can possibly do within the Elements Editor
can be found somewhere on this menu bar.
The menu bar is not necessarily the fastest way to get to a particular command,
but it is a great fallback, because just about anything you could ever need
within the Elements Editor can be found on the menu bar.
If you're still feeling a little intimidated by the Editor interface, don't fret.
The simple fact is that while the Editor is well organized,
it also has a lot of functionality to offer,
and that means there are a lot of controls available within the interface.
I assure you, after spending just a little time working with your images in the Editor,
it will begin to feel familiar and comfortable as you optimize your images to perfection.
